The University of Kansas Health System's video: Thursday Morning Medical UpdateIn Need of a New Heart While Being Treated for Cancer

Dr. Paul Schroeppel, head orthopedic surgeon, The Kansas City Chiefs The NFL draft is putting the spotlight of course on Kansas City tonight and The University of Kansas Health System doctors who work with the team will be part of all of this action. Most of the offseason medical work was earlier during the combine and March where doctors give full physicals to about 330 players. The Chiefs have a plan for who they want in that draft, but as we know, plans can change. The pick that you thought you'd be making may turn out to be much different. So many times there's some decision making that happens on the fly. We are there in the War Room or next to it to provide that medical component of that real-time while we're trying to make those decisions. We try to evaluate players on two big things like availability -- will nagging injuries keep them on the bench during the season? Secondly, we look at career longevity and for how many years can they stay at the top of their game. Focus Topic Gene Taylor, cancer and heart transplant patient In 2017, Gene had a bone marrow cancer diagnosis. Doctors conducted regular bone marrow and blood tests to monitor him, but relatively speaking, his health was pretty good. Things took a turn in late 2020 as oncology doctors at the University of Kansas Cancer Center sent him to heart specialists at the University of Kansas Health System. He was just about to walk me out the door with a clean bill of health before conducting one final test and it came back that he had amyloid in the heart. AL amyloidosis can affect the heart by causing it to become thick, stiff and weak. Gene’s heart was failing and it was even worse because he had active cancer and he was not eligible for a heart transplant. For the next two years he would undergo chemotherapy with his failing heart. Finally in November of 2022, doctors got him healthy enough for a heart transplant and received one within days of the news. Dr. Andrija Vidic, heart transplant program director and heart failure & transplant cardiologist, The University of Kansas Health System We can do this for Gene because of how our program has evolved. Our idea was to get him healthy enough to be able to be transplanted. His heart was very large and the protein buildup caused a very narrow area for blood in the heart. Over time, that hole would have completely closed for Gene. We focus on relationships with patients and that's what really drives patients to live longer. Because just like a family member, you want to tell us everything because the better information we have, the better decisions we can make. We really follow these patients frequently and for the rest of their life. Dr. Zubair Shah, amyloid program director and heart failure & transplant cardiologist, The University of Kansas Health System Amyloidosis means protein buildup where it should not build up. That can be part of an organ, the whole organ or multiple organs. There are so many proteins that can cause amyloidosis, but in Gene’s case the protein was coming from the bone marrow because bone marrow was cancerous. We have one of the largest amyloid programs in the whole nation. We have one of the most robust transplant teams. This is a very high-functioning, highly program to provide full care for these patients.